304 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Prot&roglyphia, and the second with canaliculated teeth the Solenoglyphia. The Snakes of the 

 first division or sub-order resemble the common Snakes in their general configuration, and are 

 termed the Poisonous Colubrine Snakes. The second sub-order is often called the Viperine. 



The first sub-order is subdivided into two families ; in one the Snakes are terrestrial, 

 the Elapidce,* and in the other they are aquatic, the Hydrophidce. 



SUB ORDER PROTKROGLYPHIA FAMILY ELAPID^E. THE POISONOUS 

 TERRESTRIAL COLUBRINE SNAKES. 



Several genera of Snakes belong to this family, and all have more or less brilliant colours 

 ornamented with lighter colours or red bands, and they may be passed by as innocuous Snakes 

 if they happen to be at rest, and the nature of the jaws and head be not examined. The head 

 is covered with elegant plates, but the loreal is constantly absent, and the muzzle is short, as 

 a rule.t There are large, immovable, grooved teeth placed in front of the maxillary bones, and 

 usually some curved, ungrooved teeth follow ; the palate and pterygoid bones, and the mandible, have 

 also curved teeth. A poison gland is developed in relation with the grooved tooth on each side. 

 They are found in all the hot parts of the world except Europe. 



GENUS NAJA. THE COBRAS. 



These Elapidse have the power of stretching out some of the anterior ribs and the skin of the 

 neck so as to produce a long hood when irritated. The head is rather quadrangular, and there are 

 one or two small teeth behind the venomous ones. These Snakes can raise the head and much of 

 the body in the erect posture. Among the varieties of the Cobra are those with spectacles on the 

 hood, or "Gokurrahs," and those with one ocellus or other mark on the hood, named " Keautiahs." 



There is only one species, writes Fayrer, of this genus in India, which is called the Cobra- 

 di-Capello, or Naja, and more properly Naja tripudians. There is also one species in Western 

 Africa, which is closely allied to the Indian kind, and is called Naja Haje. There are several 

 varieties of the Indian species, each having a distinct name given to it by the natives. They are 

 all most deadly. They all have the hood, and they never attack without distending it. They raise 

 the anterior third of the body from the ground, slide slowly along on the posterior two-thirds, and 

 with the hood dilated remain on the alert, darting the head forward to the attack when anything 

 hostile approaches. This attitude is very striking, and few objects are more calculated to inspire awe 

 than a large Cobra, when, with its hood erect, hissing loudly, and eyes glaring, he prepares to strike. 

 Nevertheless, they are not, writes Sir Joseph Fayrer, aggressive; and unless interfered with or 

 irritated, they crawl along the ground with neck undilated, looking not unlike the innocent 

 Snakes, but the moment they are disturbed they assume the menacing attitude. 



The Naja tripudians, or Cobra, grows to the length of five feet and a half, or even more. One 

 which was given to Sir Joseph Fayrer by Dr. W. B. Beatson was of the variety called " Kurrees 

 Gokurrah," of a light chocolate colour, without any mark on the hood. It was five feet eight inches 

 long, including the tail, which measured eleven inches and a quarter. In girth it was six inches 

 and a quarter. This is the largest Cobra seen by Sir Joseph Fayrer, but he believes they attain 

 even a greater size than this. The Cobra is found all over Hindostan up to 8,000 feet high in the 

 Himalaya ; but Mr. Hodgson says he has never seen it in the Nepal Valley. It is equally dreaded 

 and fatal everywhere. The varieties are numerous, and they are distinguished by the markings on 

 the hood, and by various shades of colour, from the darkest olive or black with a purple iridescence, 

 to a pale chocolate, fawn, or yellow colour. The natives say that the Spectacled Cobra is a Snake 

 of the city or town, and that the Keautiah, or Nag Sarap, prefers the fields and jungle. But 

 both are common about Calcutta. The Cobra is a nocturnal Snake, that is, it is most active 

 in the night, but it is often seen moving about in the day. It is oviparous, and the eggs, from 

 eighteen to twenty-five in number, are oblate, and about the size of those of a pigeon ; the shell is 

 white, but tough and leathery. The Cobras feed on small animals, birds' eggs, frogs, fish, or insects. 



* Elaps, a kind of Serpent. 



t The large scales or plates on the heads of most Snakes are beautifully arranged, and are used in the classification. 

 They are named rostral, anterior frontal, posterior frontal, vertical, superciliary, occipital, nasals, loreal, anterior ocular, 

 posterior ocular, upper labials, temporals, mental, lower labials, and chin shields (see diagram on previous page). 



